The concept of IQ and IQ tests were invented in the early 1900's. An early American supporter of IQ testing said, "The decline in intelligence is due to two factors, the change in races migrating to this country, and to the additional factor of sending lower and lower representatives of each race." He concluded that: "The steps that should be taken to preserve or increase our present mental capacity must, of course, be dictated by science and not by political expediency. Immigration should not only be restrictive, but highly selective."
A sample IQ test and commentary
A Parody of IQ testing
"Girls hold their mother responsible for their lack of a penis and do not forgive her for their being thus put at a disadvantage. The boy's sexual wishes in regard to the mother become more intense and the father is perceived as an obstacle to the; this gives rise to the Oedipus complex.” Freud suggested (1933).
"The ideal of behaviorism is to eliminate coercion: to apply controls by changing the environment in such a way as to reinforce the kind of behavior that benefits everyone." B. F. Skinner (behaviorist psychologist)
"The ideal of behaviorism is to eliminate coercion: to apply controls by changing the environment in such a way as to reinforce the kind of behavior that benefits everyone." B. F. Skinner (behaviorist psychologist)
Questions
- Which theory of the mind does the idea of IQ (look up IQ) fit best-- Plato, Locke, or Freud?
- Which theory of mind do the authors of the parody most likely agree with?
- What do Freud's and Skinner's remarks reveal about theories and power?